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Sphagnum mosses make up the living surface of Scotland’s peatlands. These ancient landscapes are home to rare plants and birds.


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Corn buntings have declined by a staggering 83% over the past 20 years. Their numbers have plummeted since the 1970s as a result of intensive farming.


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Britain is now one of the major European strongholds for the marsh fritillary butterfly. But even here its range has reduced by over 62%.


No trees please


Cobbinshaw Moss is a wild area of peatland in West Lothian that needs to stay wet in order to maintain its interest. Many of the plants and animals for which it’s special – along with the patterned surface of mosses and pools – would disappear if it dried out. It’s therefore vital that trees don’t get a chance to grow on the moss, as they suck water out of the ground. The SRDP has provided funding to install stock bridges so that sheep can graze the whole area and eat any tree seedlings that appear. The only source of water for the moss is rain, so it’s


important to block the places where the water can run off. Moss owner Matthew Hamilton has also been given funding to block the channels created where people used to work the peat.


Living traditions


Traditional ways of working the land are often the best for wildlife, and this is particularly true on the machair of the Western Isles. SRDP can be used to help boost the crofting economy, so that people can stay and maintain traditional crofting methods, which then deliver huge benefits for wildlife and the landscape of the islands.


Northton Common Grazings, on the island of Harris, are getting £100,000 over the next five years. In return, they will grow an oats and barley mix on six hectares (15 acres) of the machair to use as cattle feed in the winter. The crop will be fertilised with seaweed, harvested using a reaper-binder and then stooked. This form of traditional crofting should benefit rare birds,


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such as the corn bunting, and retain a long-established look to the landscape. In addition, cattle and sheep grazing will be managed, which will benefit the grassland’s rich variety of wild flowers, and marram grass will be planted to help stabilise the sand dunes. All this work should also have knock-on benefits for the island’s tourism industry.


The Nature of Scotland


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